Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic has moved to offer praise to Derrick Rose after the NBA veteran called time on his impressive career. The 36-year-old started his career at the Chicago Bulls, spending eight years at the United Center, and he spent his last campaign at the Memphis Grizzlies last season.
Doncic and Rose have gone head to head on many occasions, and the Slovenian star took to his social media channels to offer his praise; he did so by posting a throwback photo from 2018, when the two played each other in Doncic’s rookie season at the Mavericks, and Rose was at the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with a rose emoji.
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Rose spent 16 seasons in the NBA, and he got off to a flyer by picking up the NBA MVP award for 2011 at the tender age of 22 and six months old, becoming the youngest player to receive the prestigious award.
He took the Bulls to five playoff berths, once with Minnesota and twice with the New York Knicks, never quite securing an NBA Championship. Rose was a three-time NBA All-Star pick, achieving this milestone between 2010 and 2012.
Rose announced his retirement in classy fashion, addressing the sport of basketball as a whole and all that it had given him, stating,
“You believed in me through the highs and lows, my constant when everything else seemed uncertain,”
“You told me it’s okay to say goodbye, reassuring me that you’ll always be a part of me, no matter where life takes me,”
He also took out a full-page advert in the six cities representing the six NBA teams he represented over the course of his career. Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf was one of many others who thanked Rose for his service to the game,
“He’s one of the toughest and most determined athletes I’ve ever been around, constantly fighting through adversity that would have broken most,”
“Watching him grow from a Chicago Public League star to becoming the youngest MVP in NBA history as a Bull has been nothing short of an honor.” Reinsdorf added.
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was also gushing in his assessment of Rose, who he coached at the Bulls, Timberwolves and in New York,
“I know the person that he is, the character that he has,”
“And it shines through.”
Though Rose suffered from a number of injury issues, he still produced sterling numbers during his time in the NBA. He averaged a healthy 17.4 pts per game across his 723 regular season games. In his last season he made just seven starts, which is an indication as to why now is the right time to bring the curtain down on a career of a player who was hugely popular across the country.